What If
by McGonagall's Bola
Summary: Set after 5.16 The Sum in the Parts of the Whole. Booth never would have let her go like that. BB -REWRITTEN!


_"I'm the gambler. I believe in giving this a chance. Look, I wanna give this a shot."_

_"You mean… us? No, 'cause the FBI won't let us work together if we're a couple."_

_"Don't do that, there's no reason…"_

_And then them both by initiative of Booth wound up kissing each other passionately, until Bones suddenly ended their magical connection._

_"No! No!"_

_"Why? Why?"_

_"You- You thought you were protecting me, but you're the one who needs protecting."_

_"Protecting from what?"_

_"From me! I- I don't have your kind of open heart."_

_"Let's just give it a chance, that's all I'm asking."_

_"No, 'cause you said it yourself. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different outcome."_

_"Well, then let's go for a different outcome here! Alright, let's just… Hear me out, alright? You know when you talk to older couples who, you know, have been in love for thirty or forty or fifty years, it's always the guy who says 'I knew'. I knew, right from the beginning."_

_"Your evidence is anecdotal."_

_"I'm that guy. Bones, I'm that guy. I know."_

_"I- I'm not a gambler. I'm a scientist. I can't change. I don't know how. I don't know how… Please don't look so sad."_

_He sighed. "You're right. You're right."_

_"Can we still work together?"_

_He nodded. "Yeah."_

_"Thank you."_

_"But I gotta move on. You know, I gotta find someone who's- who's gonna love me thirty years or forty or fifty."_

_"I know."_

* * *

Booth and his Bones walked along in silence, until suddenly the gambler took in a very deep breath and quietly cradled the scientist's wrist, leniently turning her to look at him. "Bones. What if- What if I don't want you to change? What if I want you… just the way you are?"

"Booth…" she whispered.

"What if I want you, just the way you are?" He repeated. "What if I love you, the scientist? What if I don't care about you sometimes going all squintish on me, and me not understanding a damn of it, and always having to ask what it means? What if I don't care? What if I'm willing to be insane for loving you? We've been dancing around this for quite enough years now."

"Booth… Merely listen to all the 'what ifs'," she sniveled, turning away to hide her now abundantly streaming tears. Quietly, Booth's forefinger reached over to tuck under Bones' chin, and lifted her eyes back up on the same level as his. "Please…" she begged. "I… I'm not… I… I…"

"Damn, Bones! Why do you always doubt yourself when being confronted with the most critical events in your life! You're always so well aware of your abilities. Please believe in the abilities of us both now; that we're going to make it happen. We'll make it happen. I believe in us. Bones, I… I can't move on without having tried this; without being sure that it didn't… between us. I'm always going to wonder if it could have… And so are you."

"I know," she uttered, then started sobbing freely. Bones' tears rapidly cascaded over his thumbs. "Then what about our…?"

Booth's sadness disappeared almost immediately. "Is that a yes, Bones? Is that a yes?"

"I don't… I… I…"

"Bones," he whispered, making her look into his eyes again. "Bones, I love you."

And then it suddenly came from her lips, too. And this time, she actually meant it. This time, she didn't make everything between them sound ridiculous. "I love you, too."

And Booth, the gambler, chuckled within himself upon hearing these words, heart suddenly feeling at least thirty, forty or fifty times its usual size, filling up whole of his chest… with love. And then his lips again came crashing down upon hers. Bones' arms impetuously flung around his neck, instead of pushing him away, and demolishing him inside. She had… ravished, and mended him in the very same night.

And suddenly the well forecasted rain started pouring down from the skies above them. It poured… And both of them were right in the middle of it together, not caring the least about them getting entirely drenched by it all. Neither of them cared about anything else but them right at that instant.

There, Seeley Joseph Booth, the gambler, and Temperance Brennan, Bones, the scientist, passionately kissed as a sealing of their deep love.

And Sweets internally chuckled in satisfaction while watching them through his window.


End file.
